Free A Little Bit of Holiday Magic by Melissa McClone Page B

wasn’t up for sticking with anyone. Not for more than a night. Maybe two if they had fun together.
    Maybe the temperature had dropped more than he realized. Time to head inside and warm up. He was thinking nonsense right now. “The snow’s picking up. Let’s warm up inside and make ourselves some hot cocoa. We can check if there’s an update on your truck.”
    Her soft smile kicked his gut with the force of an ornery mountain goat. He made himself breathe.
    Something was at work here. Not magic. Physical chemistry.
    That would explain the way he felt. But he couldn’t fool around with Grace no matter how appealing the thought might be.
    “You’re a good guy, Bill Paulson.”
    “Thanks.”
    He’d been good all day, but his bad boy side wanted to come out and play with Grace.
    * * *
    Standing in Bill’s kitchen, Grace adjusted the phone receiver to better hear Thad Humphreys, the owner of the Hood Hamlet Garage and Body Shop. She was having trouble concentrating on what he was saying. Her fingers stung from the ice that had slipped into her gloves while outside playing. Her mind whirled from the fun she’d had with Bill.
    She needed a break, some distance from him.
    The guy was charming and handsome and oh so sweet to her son. She’d found herself wishing Christmas magic could be true, and maybe she’d get something special—maybe someone special—from Santa this year. Silly. A few hours of fun didn’t change anything.
    “Your truck has over one hundred eighty thousand miles on it,” Thad said. “The damage from the collision is pretty significant, plus the engine is shot. The claims adjustor will likely total the vehicle.”
    Air rushed from her lungs. Hands trembling, she clutched the phone receiver. “Total it?”
    “Yeah, I’m sorry. But there’s a way you can still keep the truck if you don’t want to buy a new one.”
    Buy a new one. The words added a hundred pounds of weight to each of her shoulders. Shoulders that hadn’t felt burdened thirty minutes ago.
    “I just wanted to give you a heads-up,” Thad said.
    Grace wanted to hang up, go back to playing outside and trying not to notice how blue Bill’s eyes were when the light hit them right. But she knew that wasn’t possible. There was no going back.
    She swallowed around the snowball-size lump in her throat. “Thanks.”
    “I’m sure this isn’t what you expected to hear.”
    “No.”
    “I’m happy to discuss your options. But think about whether you want to fix the truck or buy a new one.” Sympathy filled Thad’s voice. Who better than a mechanic to understand the sentimental attachment to a vehicle? “The claims adjustor isn’t available until Wednesday. You have a couple of days to decide.”
    Wednesday. Two days from now.
    She tightened her grasp on the phone. “Okay. Thanks. Goodbye.”
    Grace disconnected from the call, placed the phone in its charger, slumped against the refrigerator.
    Where would she stay? What would she do about the truck that had meant the world to Damon?
    She blinked, not wanting to cry.
    Laughter floated into the kitchen from the living room. She’d learned good times didn’t last. Another lesson she’d forgotten in this house until Thad’s phone call. At least Liam sounded happy. That made one of them.
    She leaned against the kitchen counter, her usual source for support.
    Two days to make a decision.
    She’d spent a year debating whether to leave Columbus or not. Months deciding where to go. Weeks selling furniture and books and clothes and baby gear so she could fit all she had into Damon’s truck.
    A truck not worth repairing.
    It’s going to be okay, babe.
    No, it wasn’t.
    Goose bumps covered her arms, ones that had nothing to do with the cold.
    The truck had been Damon’s most treasured possession. Selling his other things had been bearable because the truck was the only thing that mattered to him. He’d purchased the vehicle his senior year of high school from a local farmer,